300x250 AD TOP

AD (728x90)

Developing oral fluency through songs in Spanish

One day a friend of mine told me: "Hey, Antonio! You are always happy, always humming or singing a song with a smile on your face. I want to thank you because your happiness is contagious"Sometime later I remembered this conversation when I was planning on starting to incorporate songs in my classes and gave me the last push I needed to make it happen (thanks Jose)This is one really important point in incorporating songs in our classes. They are contagious, they just stick in our minds for days and make us sign or hum them without even noticing it.A mother told me one day, "I knew my kid was learning Spanish because he was humming My way for weeks when he got home"I was shocked! Not just me, but more people experience this feeling with music! Definitely, this is an insuperable tool for learning languages and in addition to that it gives us more things like being happy (not to be discarded).What else can we learn from a song? Oh, yes! Culture!This particular song "Se me olvidó que te olvidé" was written originally by a Mexican popular singer and songwriter Lolita de la Colina which bring up to the table Spanish speaking countries, their culture, their literature, their music, folklore...but also, this jazz-flamenco version by Bebo & Cigala gives us the opportunity to talk about cultural contacts and exchanges through music and the consequences in real-life. Following the inter-disciplinary approach possibilities are endless.

About the author

Hi there! I am Antonio Luna, a Pro student and passionate teacher. I think happiness should be the power leading our schools and I work for it. I have a lot of experience working within the IB. I have experience in the MYP & DP, but also have been working in the PYP as a support Spanish teacher.